The Stained Glass of Time
by Rainypanda
Summary: Somewhat of a crossover between Abyss & Legendia. A look into the future and see the whole world different and on the verge of utter chaos. A mix of some main game characters and some OCs. Action/Adventure/Angst/Horror/Romance. Some French & German words.
1. Chapter 1

Rainypanda: Hey! So I finally got time to finish this over break, so enjoy! This is a new style of writing I'm trying now. As you will see, this one is written in present tense, whereas I usually write my stories in past tense, so hopefully this one will give a more interesting, imminent feeling. Oh and one more thing, assume everything that happened at the end of both games already happened long before the start of this story.

Songs of inspiration on this chapter include: Na Na Na~My Chemical Romance, Paint Hell Red~Angelspit, Akai Tsuki~Disgaea soundtrack, Vergessene Kinder~Tokio Hotel, and We are Broken~Paramore

Disclaimer: All Abyss and Legendia characters belong to Namco.

Chapter 1

Rain is pelting the rooftops. Besides the rain and the soft booms of thunder nothing is making a sound. The minute flashes of lightening are nothing compared to the cold darkness surrounding Senel. The air is heavy with sadness. He starts down the puddle-streaked path that leads away from town. It's been too long. Everyday the same routine of work; exterminating monsters, performing maintenance on broken ships, doing paperwork for Will, and going to bed to do it all over again the next day. He needed a break from it all, an escape, if only for a little while.

'_I need to get away…All this work is killing me. I need someplace I can clear my mind. And it all comes down to here every time. I wonder if this spring ever gets tired of me and wants to kick me out? Since everyone left, this is the only place I can come to feel at ease. Something about this place is just so peaceful…almost as if…I can feel their presences here…this is where it all began, Lumen Spring. Where I met Will, and it all played out from there…this place makes me wonder…was I supposed to end up here and meet them all? Was I supposed to drag Shirley all the way here? Did the story of my life play out by chance?...or by fate?...Or is my life just some part of some big plan? Can it really go on like this, indefinitely? Was my life really destined to be like this?'_

Suddenly he notices a bright, almost-blinding light emanating from his hands. He slowly flips his palms up to see the glow becoming brighter.

'_This blue light! It's my eres! W-what is this? W-why is it reacting like this?'_

The marine is staring wide-eyed at his incandescently royal-blue shining hands when he hears a light rustling from behind. Starting to work up a panic, he tears his eyes away from his eres glow to the clearing over his back. He gasps.

'_Who is…?'_

Standing only a few feet before him is a short, lightly colored blue-haired, fair skinned woman, her lacy white dress blowing ever so gently in the wind.

"I am Aurora."

She reaches out her hand invitingly.

"Come child, come glimpse upon the beginnings of the end."

Senel hesitates, very cautious and unsure about his new…human? She appears human enough, but the fact that her transparency makes rain and leaves pass right through her signals a warning sign.

"The beginnings of the end? W-what are you?"

The iron eren starts to raise his knuckles in defense.

"Do not be alarmed, I come bearing no harm. I am a spirit born of eres appearing before you as a warning. The way time is progressing now is leading up to a very disastrous course of events."

"How? How is that possible? Why are you telling me this?"

The strange spirit closes her eyes for a moment.

"It is because you are one of the remaining few who could change the path of time."

Her words seem to echo through the air.

"What's so special about me?"

"Do you forget the power you possess?"

"My eres? But there are others who use eres too. Why me?"

"Most erens have fallen in death, and the remaining are being targeted and hunted down for their power."

"Wait, are you saying all my friends are…dead?"

"I do not know. All I know is that erens are dying out rapidly and being drained of their eres. In the future, eres is a very rare and extremely powerful resource. It has evolved into something much more than just a fighting medium. Using the power of eres, one is now able to track down, and even raise a protective barrier on another eren from anywhere. In addition, it has also been rumored that erens who share a special bond have even further abilities, such as limited healing and being able to communicate with each other telepathically. It is precisely because of these reasons that individuals and organizations are actively pursuing and exterminating erens to harvest their power and steal it for themselves."

Senel is just horrified; he can't find the words to speak. He repeats Aurora's words over and over again in his head, almost as if, if he says it enough, it will eventually turn into some old, forgotten nightmare. He glances back at her, horrorstricken.

"That's inhuman, unbelievable! How could they let that happen?"

"Come child, I want you to see for yourself the beginnings of the end."

The mysterious woman extends a hand toward the hesitant eren. The alliance marine stares at her with apprehension, not sure if what he's about to step into is a trap. He finally works up enough courage to walk up to this unusual creature and touch her extended hand. At that moment, as soon as his hand makes contact with the spirit's hand, everything around him goes white in a blinding flash of light.

As soon as he is able to open his eyes, he notices things are not as they just had been. For one thing, Senel realizes he's no longer standing on the Legacy, but instead somehow floating above it. He swishes his head to the side to see the spirit, Aurora, floating beside him. Almost reading his mind, she starts.

"What you're about to witness is out of my control. In this state we are invisible and merely observers. We are unable to interfere with or change anything that's happening. It is as if we simply don't exist."

He nods and takes a minute to gather in the surroundings. Directly below about fifteen feet or so lays the busy city of Werites Beacon. Upon closer examination, nothing looks different at all throughout the town. Above, huge, dark purple clouds are blanketing the sky, preventing any sunlight from shining though. The iron eren shifts his gaze back to the massive ship just then to see a beautiful hot pink light illuminating the perimeter.

'_What is this?'_

The next second, it erupts into a sudden tumultuous earthquake that rocks the entire ship. But unlike regular earthquakes, the one doesn't seem to be letting up.

"W-what's happening?"

The violent shaking continues.

"No! Is the Legacy…sinking?"

"You are correct."

"But, why? Is Shirley doing this?"

"I do not know."

"Everyone's going to die; we have to do something!"

He starts to panic.

"There is nothing we can do. Watch."

She motions with the swoop of her hand down on Werites Beacon.

People are running around the city aimlessly in a panic.

"Halt! It appears the Legacy has turned unstable and is preparing for a descent underwater. If any of you want to survive, we'll have to act in a quick, well-orderly manner. Tell everyone you see to proceed down to the big ship, the S.S. Krystallia, immediately! We must move quickly!" A brown-haired, orange suited man shouts.

'_That's Will! He's directing the citizens off the Legacy? Where are they gonna go, the Mainland? Hey, there's Harriet and Madam Mussette! They're boarding the S.S. Krystallia! And there go Norma and Moses! Where am I?'_

He watches in horror as more and more water leaks onto and floods the giant ship with every passing second.

"Hey, where are all the rest of my friends? I never saw Shirley, Jay, or Chloe board the rescue ship! Does that mean…they didn't make it? No! And where am I in all this?"

"I do not know child. I only know of what I see. I am sorry."

The iron eren continues to watch as the last few people come running out of the city and onto the large escape ship. As if on cue, the remaining highest peaks of the Legacy finally slip below the vast ocean and all land disappears. The next moment, the S.S. Krystallia roars to life and takes off in the direction of the horizon. Senel stares unbelievingly at the rescue liner as it grows smaller and smaller in the distance.

"N-no! This wasn't supposed to happen! This isn't right! How can I prevent this?"

"You cannot unwind the strands of time. The wheels have already been set in motion. It is inevitable."

"But this hasn't happened yet! There **has** to be a way to stop it!"

The spirit nods.

"Come, our journey continues."

Aurora snaps her fingers and his world goes white again. When he opens his eyes, he's hit with beaming sunshine and a cool ocean breeze. The atmosphere is lively with many people running about. He glances around at the surroundings. On the far left, a cargo boat is docked and is being unloaded by rough looking ship workers. On the right sits a row of stands of various shops from weapons to armor to food and everything in between. Not to mention this city is pretty large. Senel's never seen any city like this on the Legacy before.

"Hey, where are we? This doesn't look like the Legacy."

"An important trade city, Kitsuna. It's located on the Western coast of Rexalia."

Just then, a professional-looking, tall, serious blue-dressed man walks down a docking ramp from a prestigious ship. He carries himself in a proud manner, as if he's looking down on the surrounding workers.

"Dist, today's report!" The strange man snaps.

A skinny, white-haired, funny-looking man in a hovering royal chair with tiny glasses appears beside his commander.

"Prometheus status positive. Ground covered: 50 km. Returned gained: 20,000 Gald, captain."

"Hmmm…not bad. Now, proceed to the armory hold and prepare the 'secret' apparatus!"

The funny-looking man jumps at the words and shakes his scrawny little arms up and down in an almost excited manner.

"Ooh, why, yes of course, captain!"

He floats off back toward the big ship as another worker approaches the captain.

"Hey Jade, where do you want these 'extremely flammable explosives'?" A red-haired boy carrying a stack of red-labeled wooden crates asks.

"Stack them above the tea crates in the first sector. Oh, and Luke! Be sure not to trip on the way there!"

"Aarrg! Jade, shut up! I don't need your comments!"

Jade smirks.

"Luke, don't let him get to you." A tall blond-haired boy around Luke's age, going past him from the ship, says.

"Guy, could you get the last few?"

"I'm on it!"

"My my…When did we get stronger than Luke?"

"Don't be too hard on him, Jade. He's been through a lot lately. Take it easy, would you?"

"I've become quite the sarcastic bastard, haven't I? Hehehe…" Jade laughs to himself. "Well we must be on our toes, there's no telling when or where danger will strike."

Jade looks up at the sky. Suddenly a loud siren starts ringing. The people begin to panic and dart in all directions franticly.

"What's going on?" Senel asks.

"Watch."

Amidst all the scattering people, a dark-clad group of soldiers start gathering in the town center. A sinister red-haired woman steps forward in front of the mysterious group of black-uniformed soldiers. She, too, is covered in black, but with strange red and white spikes protruding from her outfit. A loud but somehow subtle gasp of horror echoes from the remaining crowd that's half encircling the newcomers.

"Now now, no need to cower, imbeciles. Just hand over the elixir stone you've been hiding in this city and we'll leave your pathetic city in peace! Or we'll take it by force if we have to!" The crimson-haired woman shouts as she draws out a huge trident spear.

No one speaks for a minute.

"Very well then. Let's just see how long this town can hold up!"

She motions to the henchmen behind her, which all immediately begin drawing handguns. She creeps up to the nearest citizen, a young boy about six years old, and pounds the bottom of her spear on the ground in front of him. The soldiers spread out into a line formation, aiming their guns right at all the townspeople.

"Now, little boy, do you know where an elixir stone is hiding in this harbor?" She questions mockingly, her fierce eyes staring him down.

"N-no…" The boy mumbles.

The dark woman's eyes turn to pure rage.

"Wrong answer!"

In a split second, she stabs the innocent boy in the chest. He screams in pain and rolls down on the ground, bleeding profusely. She snickers.

"Arachne!"

The violent woman swishes to the side to find the source of the voice. A tall man in blue glares piercingly at her from just behind the line of soldiers. They disperse in front of him as their leader approaches.

"Captain of the famous warship Prometheus, Jade Curtis! It's been a while."

He pushes his glasses up. She starts pacing in a short line in front of him, turning to face him. He magically draws a spear out of his hand instantly and points it toward her.

"Arachne, leave this city! A dark knight has already snatched the elixir stone you seek from us. You are wasting precious time and lives by remaining here!"

She glares into his eyes with burning rage.

"Status report, now! Has a dark knight really been spotted through here recently?"

"A-according to our locator…one was near here a few days prior. No location data of where he is now as of yet." A soldier responds.

Arachne darts her beady pupils around the city, then back at Jade.

"Fine! We will leave…for now!" She narrows her eyes even more. "But if I find out you're lying, I won't hesitate to burn this **whole** city to ashes! Starting with you!" She threatens with a fake jab of her spear.

He holds his ground, lance still poised to strike. Arachne backs up slowly as her soldiers follow her. She takes one more glance around the harbor, then turns and dashes out of sight. When the last soldier is gone, the city starts to relax and return to normal. The merchants return to their shops, the workers go back to working and unloading packages, and Jade makes his way in the direction of the warship.

"Coronel, coronel, there you are!" A young, black-haired perky girl with pigtails exclaims.

"Anise."

She runs over to greet him.

"I have an important letter from the king of Miratamia! Would you like me to read it?"

"King Menalaus? Yes, go ahead Anise."

"Anise? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Luke! I'm the king's messenger, remember? I swear, you can be so dumb sometimes!"

"Hey!"

"Please ignore him and proceed with the letter, Anise."

"Yes, coronel." She smiles and breaks the seal of the envelope.

"I, King Menalaus the Seventh of Miratamia wish to inform the captain of the Prometheus that a potentially dangerous threat has been spotted east of Kitsuna in the Misty Swamp. We believe it to be a dark knight, but we cannot say for sure, as we are relying on eyewitnesses that were in the area. In any case, be very careful and prepared for the worst. Sincerest regards, the king. And P.S… Be safe by sweetest Luke! I love you! 3"

"Grr, it does **not** say that! Stop adding your crap at the end!" Luke proclaims.

"Hmmm…a dark knight. They're catching on to us. Well, this can't be good… At any rate, we need to be ready. Thank you, Anise. Send my regards to the king."

She nods.

"Sure thing coronel! Goodbye my Luke!"

"Aagh! Jade, do something about her! She's so freaking annoying!"

Jade snickers. Senel focuses his attention back to the spirit.

"Whoa! What just happened? Who were those shady soldiers and that woman called Arachne? And why did they want something called an 'elixir stone'? And who are those dark knights they mentioned?"

Aurora turns in the marine's direction.

"Patience child, these are complicated matters… Although I do not know everything, I will explain to you everything I know." She pauses. "Those soldiers come from a dark underground organization known as 'Der Gespenstische Verein'. The woman you saw is Arachne, a top commander in charge of carrying out orders from their lair and retrieving located elixir stones. Elixir stones are rare, little dark red stones with the power to give its owner artificial eres as long as one possesses it. Only six exist in the world and are very well hidden. Der Gespenstische Verein is currently searching relentlessly for all six of these stones, for when all of these powerful objects are together, the holder wields control over anyone's mortality. They enable one to end the life of anybody at anytime. They are very dangerous, so therefore are scattered in very remote, hidden areas to ensure no one could ever try to abuse their power. However, lately there have been some telepathic scientists with extraordinary super human abilities working for Der Gespenstische Verein that are aiding them in locating and uncovering these stones. This evil organization will stop at nothing to get their hands on one of them, even resorting to killing innocent people and destroying entire towns. Nobody knows exactly why they are so actively pursuing the elixir stones, besides the fact of being able to exterminate mass numbers of people. Their sinister plan remains but a mystery at this point. This is where the Dark Knights come into play. The dark knights consist of three independent agents also in search of the elixir stones in connection with Der Gespenstische Verein. They are ruthless serial killers that work alone and are rarely ever seen in the open. They will kill anyone for any reason at all, precisely why they are so feared. You'd be wise to watch your back if you ever travel alone."

Senel stares wide-eyed at her.

"No way…"

The spirit nods grimly. "I'm afraid so… Come, our journey continues further."

She snaps her fingers once again, and a second later the iron eren raises his eyelids in a new place. The evening sky glows in a burnt orange hue. The ground is littered with burned-down ruins of buildings and houses. A rusting stone fountain lays in two in the middle of what probably once was a street. Broken molded pieces and chips of wood line every corner. A couple decaying severed columns block the paths throughout the abandoned wasteland. Some skulls and bones are piled up against an old standing stonewall. Splattered across the wall is faded red graffiti in the words, 'Paint Hell Red', 'Sleep Now', and 'Channel Hell'. No signs of life thrive here except for the few dark figures lurking and ducking behind the remains. The eren stares in disbelief, as curious as cautious.

"Grevel. A once thriving city that didn't last long after an elixir stone was rumored to be hidden within its walls. It was Der Gespenstische Verein that brought this city to ruins…about three years ago. They burned down everything and killed everyone in their way. It is nothing more than a dangerous, bloody graveyard now as some of the troops use it as their shooting playground. The sad fact is, many cities may come to this as a result of their pursuit of power."

"No! T-that can't be; I won't let it! I'll stop this! Somehow, I'll prevent this all from happening!"

"Your kind is dwindling in numbers rapidly… And it is only you kind that could ever change the course of events. Please…never forget that."

"But, I still don't understand. I'm not that special, I'm not that great! I'm only here today because of my friends."

"Protect your friends… If you have any left…"

That ominous thought looms over him.

"What do you mean? Of course they're alive! Or…I hope they are… Tell me, in this time, are **any** of them still alive?"

Aurora pauses briefly. "Only **you** know the answer to that question."

Senel's tone saddens. "They're all dead…aren't they?"

She shuts her eyes and slowly brings her transparent head up in an ever so slight nod.

"Our journey is not yet over."

She clicks her sparkly fingers and reappears again with the alliance marine in a different area. This time the sky is nearly pitch black as the stars and streetlamps create the only light.

"Where are we now?"

"Miratamia, the royal capital of Rexalia. You can't see it, but meters up ahead, over the houses before us sits the grand castle of King Menalaus the Seventh."

"Hey, this is where that Anise girl came from… But what are we doing back here in this alley?"

Just then a light-haired young man with familiar clothes rounds the corner by the dumpster into the alley. As he walks closer toward him, Senel catches a glimpse of his face. He gasps.

"Is that…me?"

"Do you not recognize yourself? Watch."

The white-haired eren goes behind the dumpster and emerges on the opposite side, swishing his head from side to side.

"Where is that atomizer? I thought he said he left it-" "What the? My eres? Why is it doing this?"

A bright blue light starts glowing in a ring on his hands. A quiet tap sounds behind him. Before he gets a chance to turn around, a dark figure appears before him. He flinches.

"You're…one of the dark knights! I'll dispose of you!"

The figure, dressed in all black from head to toe with even a smooth black helmet covering his face, unsheathes a black halberd with dimly glowing red lines running through it. A red blast escapes from it, heading straight for Senel. He swiftly raises both fists to block it. When he looks up, the dark knight charges. Going on the offense, he doesn't hesitate to charge right back. As his fists clash with the razor-sharp blade, he tries to overthrow the power struggle.

"Wyrm crush!"

The mysterious figure blocks immediately, sending Senel staggering backwards. Before he can catch his balance, the dark knight creates a red whirlwind of power and slams into him, sending the alliance marine flying into the wall and crashing to the ground.

"Ughh!" He pulls himself on his feet, panting, and blood dripping down his forehead and gushing from his arm.

He rushes forward again to clash with the pulsing sword. He focuses all his strength in his fists and shatters the evil swordsman's grip on his blade. Seizing the opportunity, he fiercely punches him in the gut, followed by a series of three more blows to the upper body. He looks at his enemy's fallen body, noticing blood starting to run and pool underneath him.

"Give me your elixir stone, **now**!"

After a couple seconds, the dark knight turns his helmet in Senel's direction. He detaches a dark red stone from his opposite wristband and flings it down the back alley, around the corner. The iron eren runs after it, disappearing behind the corner. As soon as he's out of view, the dark knight quickly gathers himself together somehow, despite being badly hurt, and runs off in the opposite direction. The eren returns to the alleyway clutching the precious relic. He gasps.

"He's gone! Unbelievable! Look at all this blood! He shouldn't have been able to—" He gasps again as he takes a closer look at the puddle of blood.

"This is…a Meseta mark. I haven't seen one in ages. That guy's a Meseta? No way!"

He picks up a small, shiny white piece of metal in the shape of a triangle. He fingers it over in his hands for a couple seconds and pockets it.

"Get back here you coward! Come on and fight me!" Senel yells into the night.

After a minute of silence, he scoffs, "Heh, yea, some fighter you are!... Still I can't believe he was ever a Meseta…"

A couple seconds later, the alliance marine runs out of the alley and starts down the street ahead.

"That was a dark knight?" Senel asks the spirit.

"Yes. They wait and ambush you, then try to kill you. You were lucky this time, child. Don't think your luck will last indefinitely."

"Wait, how far into the future is this?"

"I do not know exactly. I would guess two or three years."

"Two or three years? The world got this bad in two to three years? Hell… So, what's a Meseta thing I was talking about?"

"Mesetas are a somewhat underground group that is believed to hold special power on the night of the red moon. Nothing else is known about them in regards to what that power is or where it came from. Only Mesetas themselves can recognize other Mesetas by their special mark. That way, they remain but a complete mystery."

He ponders the information. "So, does that mean…I'm a Meseta?"

"Perhaps. I do not know for sure. Only you would know the answer."

"Me? But where did he, I mean I, go?" He darts his head back and forth down the street.

"Do not worry about it. We have one more stop."

Aurora clicks her fingers and they disappear. As soon as Senel opens his eyes, he wishes he wouldn't have. Right in front of him stands a masked lab technician hovering over a human body. With a knife-like scapel in hand, he slices off its head. It rolls off the long table and splats of the hard floor. Senel cringes. The sick technician doesn't flinch as he smoothly runs the blade down the victim's chest. He rips out the heart and places it under an eerie purple light. There he proceeds to probe and cut it in some places. The eren looks away, horrified, and catches sight of the area. The walls are laced with spears, daggers, syringes, knifes, scythes, whips, morning stars, axes, and other torture devices. On the far wall is a large chart displaying many unreadable symbols and numbers and chains of formulas. Another technician in a long white lab coat emerges through an inner doorway into the room carrying a small red rock.

"That's an elixir stone! What is this place?"

"I'm sorry you had to see this, but this is the lair of Der Gespenstische Verein. This is the place where they test on erens, kill them, and harvest their power. You saw what happened just now. That person was most likely an eren."

He gasps. "This is barbaric!"

"Watch."

At that moment, Arachne and a group of soldiers burst into the chamber; Arachne taking the lead.

"We successfully secured another location. We are positive an elixir stone resides within. Your orders, Monsieur!" The spider woman announces into the rear door on the far side.

"Good. Then initiate sequence Alpha and move it! No mercy!" A low, dark male voice sounds back.

"Oui, C'est pas le problem, Monsieur boss!"

She runs out, the soldiers trailing behind.

"Who was that, that answered her? Monsieur boss?"

"Master Darkov. The head captain of Der Gespenstische Verein. Arachne is not just his slave, but also his wife. Both are powerful eren forces. You'd be wise not to get caught alone with either one of them."

"Are they **that** powerful?"

Before he can hear a reply, his sight blacks out as Aurora fades out right before his eyes. As soon as he regains sight, he looks around and blinks several times. The glow of the moon's reflection on the water shines dimly before him.

"The spring…am I back?"

The blue spirit nods.

"You have glimpsed the parts of events leading to the end. You may be our only hope. A word of caution, never speak to anyone of what you have seen. Not even your friends. I bid you farewell."

In a flash, the strange eres spirit called Aurora vanishes in a flurry of shining blue sparkles. Senel blinks a few more times, incredulously.

"Hey wait! Hold on! What do you mean I can't tell anybody? Why am I supposed to keep this all a secret? **Why?** Tell me! Come back!"

He paces up and down the spring looking and waiting to see Aurora reappear again. About fifteen minutes pass until he gives up and realizes the spirit isn't coming back tonight. The lights in the city help guide him to his house on this rainy night. Once inside, he slips under the covers and falls back on the pillow.

'_Was that all real, everything I saw, and Aurora? It's too much, this is all too much. It must be a dream… Yea, I'll wake up tomorrow and this will all be just a strange dream. Yea, because there's no way any of that is real or could ever happen…'_

It's not long till he drifts into a deep slumber. The next second later it seems like, he's hearing his name called.

"Senel! Senel, wake up you sleepyhead! Come on! Time to get to work today on the Prometheus!" A high-pitched female voice rings in his ear.

'_I know that voice, that's-!'_

Senel tears his eyes open and lets out a loud gasp. The room is littered with crates and barrels and rope with an orange striped life preserver ring hanging on the wall ahead. The room rocks slightly.

"Shirley? What's going on? W-what are** you** doing here? Where am I? This isn't **my** room!"

A blond-haired, cute cheerful girl stares clueless back at him. She tilts her head to the side.

"Senel, are you okay? Did you have a bad dream? Did you hit your head too hard yesterday? We live together here in Kitsuna, remember? You work for Captain Jade on the Prometheus…remember?"

His jaw drops. "What? No… That's not right! My home is in Werites Beacon and I do work for Will and…"

She shakes he head side to side with an innocent smile. "You're losing it, Senel. You should be more careful out there, okay? Don't overexert yourself next time." She giggles.

"…Shirley, what year is it?"

"Ummm…ND 4076. Did you forget that too?"

'_ND 4076? That's impossible! It was just ND 4074! No, there's no way I…just jumped two years into the future! Aurora…was that all true? This can't be happening!'_

Reviews are always welcome!

What will happen next, you ask? Hmmm…. Eat some turkey and you'll find out soon! In Chapter 2 that is! Muhahahahahaha! **cough cough**

Thanks for reading! Love ya all and Happy Holidays! ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Rainypanda: Hey, I'm back! I know it's been a while since I put up the first chapter, but I've been so freaking busy with stupid school, and with finals then moving, I never got much time to work on this. Alas, the next installment of this suspenseful tale is finally here! Hope it was well worth the wait!

Songs of inspiration include: All We Know~Paramore, Emergency~Paramore, Tattoo~Jordin Sparks, This Is How I Disappear~My Chemical Romance, Jugular~Angelspit, Conspiracy~Paramore, It's Not a Fashion Statement It's a Death Wish~My Chemical Romance

Disclaimer: Namco owns all Abyss and Legendia characters.

Chapter 2

So deep in thought, Senel doesn't notice what's going on around him till he catches a blurry sight of something bobbing up and down right in front of his face. As the animate object comes into focus, he's ripped from his spiraling out of control thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, Shirley! You can stop that now."

The small open hand stops moving and pulls away from his sight.

"You went into some kind of trance for a minute. Are you sure you're alright?"

"…Was I here yesterday? As in here here?"

"Of course you were silly! Where else would you be? Do you need to see a doctor? I'm sure I can find one nearby—"

"N-no! I'm fine! I just…got a little amnesia from that…injury yesterday! Just…help me refresh my memory on a few things."

'…_That was close. I have to be careful on what I say. I can't let anything slip that I woke up from a couple years ago. That will raise suspicion and questions and prompt about Aurora. She warned me not to say a word about anything she showed me, or her existence…I haven't got a clue why, but I think it's better to just heed her words and keep silent about it for now.'_

"As long as you're sure you're alright… Things like what?"

"Why am I here? In this city? How did I get here? And how did we come to live together?"

"You really forgot all that, Senel? You poor thing, you're a real mess! Okay, I'll do my best to try and explain things to you…just try not to forget it all the next time you get hurt, okay?"

Shirley takes a breath.

"Well, you are one of Jade's sub captains on the Prometheus, Rexalia's best warship for exterminating hordes of troublesome monsters and collecting revenue for the empire. I volunteer my time at the grand Inn of Kitsuna from time to time, but mostly clean up around the house, our house-boat that is, and cook for you. We've made a lot of new friends here since we've started our new life together here on the mainland. After the Legacy sank and we swam all the way here together, you said you wanted to develop a deeper relationship with me and take care of me. I remember you said I was the only hope for you to ever really live a normal rest of your life and experience all the things normal people do like matrimony and-"

He gasps.

"The Legacy already sank? No! But why? How long ago?"

"I suppose it's going on a year now…but, yes, it's gone… And the one who did it…was me. The idea came from my family, the Ferines, they wanted to return to their old life underwater, where we originally dwelt. We didn't want any piece of us to remain after we had gone. You wanted to see it disappear as well because you told me it held too many painful scars and memories. But I did as you instructed as you may recall, I spread the word out in advance to everyone to ready a ship to use to evacuate as soon as it showed signs of rumbling and descent. On that day, you stayed with me as I used my power as Merines to sink and say goodbye to the ancient civilization of my people. Afterwards, you and I made our way over the endless waves of the vast ocean together until we reached the shores of Kitsuna. We've lived here ever since. But don't worry…I'm sure everyone made it off safely and no lives were lost."

Senel stares wide eyed, unable to speak. He runs through her words again and again in his mind. After a minute, he inhales deeply and nods slowly.

"…I-I don't believe it. But, I guess I have to accept it…and move on. What's past is past. I can't change what's already happened. All we can do is move forward..." He pauses. "Wait, you said everyone made it off safely right? All of our friends are still alive…right?"

"We…haven't seen any one of them since before the Legacy sank. You never really expressed any desire to find any of them either. I'm sure they're all alive and well, wherever they are… I'm sorry I can't be of more help. But, we don't really have any time to go visiting them anyway with how busy you are everyday."

"I haven't had any contact with anyone since then?... No. Now I have to know, I just have to know where they all are and that they're still alive! We're going to visit them today! All of them, Will, Norma, Moses, Harriet, Jay, and Chloe!"

"But Senel, you can't! You have to work on the ship! Jade needs you on guard in the city to help drive off Der Gespentische Verein too! What's gotten into you? You have responsibilities now, you can't just go running off whenever you'd like, like you did before… The city needs you…"

"Der Gespenstische Verein? You know about Der Gespenstische Verein? What about Mesetas?"

"Yes, and I'm glad you remembered something at least!" The Merines sighs. "They're a group of pure evil that come through here time to time to stir up trouble about these weird, powerful stones called Elixir stones. Jade and Arachne are always at each other's necks in a power struggle. Somehow he always gets her to leave with a new fabrication to divert her attention away from your elixir stone you're hiding. The bad thing is, I do think they're starting to catch on though… Mesetas? Isn't that you and Jade's little…secret or something? I heard you mention it to him on a couple occasions. You'd have to ask him about it. Speaking of which, oh my! Look at the time! We've spent **way** too much time talking! Come on, Senel! Hurry! Jade is going to be furious!"

Shirley runs ahead and out of the boat as the iron eren gathers himself together and starts out of the room after her. Right in front of the orange-striped life preserver, something glittering catches his eye. Sitting right on top of the barrel in the corner beside him is a dimly sparkling, red little stone.

'_My elixir stone! I should keep this with me.'_

He slips the small stone in his pocket, only to feel something else buried deeper within. It pokes his finger as he carefully removes it. A shiny, white, familiar triangular piece of metal looms back at him. He raises an eyebrow, curiously.

'_Wait, is this…that Meseta mark I took from that Dark Knight in that vision Aurora showed me? And this elixir stone? That already happened?'_

"Senel!" A feminine voice yells.

The marine hurries out of the room and out across a boat ramp that leads right into the heart of the harbor of Kitsuna. The sun is bright in the sky. He looks around and spots a blond girl standing next to a rather tall and important-looking man. He darts over and notices the same big ship docked behind them.

"I'm sorry, he's late due to having some lasting trauma from his bad injury yesterday. He seems to have slight amnesia, so if you wouldn't mind taking it easy on him today and—"

"I'm here!" The marine pants. "Jade?"

The man in blue shifts his gaze from Shirley to meet the marine. He merely stares intently at him with a cold expression Senel can't read. His eyes suddenly move into the reflecting glare of sunlight that shields the lenses on his glasses.

"Amnesia is it? Hmmm…interesting. But of course, this must call for some **celebration**! Another…mentally-challenged, oversleeping, unpunctual little d—"

"Jade, don't you dare finish that sentence! Cut the sarcasm already, I know I'm late, but I'm here… And I'm probably not in any position to ask this, but…can I possibly…have the day off today? There's something important I need to do."

Shirley gasps. Jade shifts his weight and smiles ever so unusually large.

"Oh my! You have something to do **more** important than work? My, my…I might just let you have it…if you get down on your knees and beg for it like a child." He chuckles through closed lips.

"You…ass!"

The Merines rips her sight back and forth between the two of them, in shock and fear. A sly laugh escapes from the captain.

"Perhaps that might have been a **bit** unreasonable… I suppose I **can** give you the day off this once…on one condition."

"Don't do it, Senel!"

"What's the condition?"

The captain's lips curl into his famous creepy smile.

"Oh, nothing so much as…how you'd say…double-time decoy deployment in the shooting sector?"

"That's…a little cruel, isn't it?" Shirley protests. "Couldn't you just—"

"…I'll take it."

"Very well then… You're free today. But come tomorrow…" Jade's face melts into a slightly evil smile as he turns away toward his ship and stalks away.

"Senel, do you realize what you've just done?"

"…No, and right now I don't care! I have to catch up with my friends today. I won't feel right until I do. I'll worry about everything else tomorrow…" The marine scans the area and nearby docked boats. "What's the quickest way around here? The Mainland, that is."

"We have a wonderful and efficient train system connecting all the major cities together throughout the three empires: Rexalia, Crusand and Gadoria. …And just in case you don't remember, we're in Rexalia right now… Did you have any place in mind you wanted to go to first?"

"Umm…what about Miratamia? That's the capital of Rexalia, right? There's bound to be somebody there." The iron eren suggests.

She nods. "Couldn't hurt."

He shrugs his shoulders. "First stop of many I'm guessing. Let's go!"

"Follow me!"

The blond girl leads him out of the city gates and up to the nearby rail terminal. Directly in the middle of the many glowing yellow buttons and green switches lies a relatively large square blue inlay map with blinking points at every couple inches of the next.

"Here's the terminal. It's not hard to use, just look at the map and find where you wish to go. Move the switch over it like this…and press this yellow button." She presses the button and immediately, a train horn blares. "Miratamia, was it? Here we go… We'll be there soon."

Their train zooms around the track and halts in front of them. As soon as they climb in, it roars to life and races down the track at breakneck speed. The next minute, the electric door slides open and they jump out. It takes off as fast as lightning behind them.

"Whoa!"

"Pretty nice, huh? We're spoiled. They just recently created these trains a few months ago. They're still prototypes, but I think they're very advanced for their time." She giggles. "And plus, Miratamia's not too far away from Kitsuna anyway. It's the closest city to us actually…"

Before he lets himself get sucked into another trance contemplating the awe-inspiring mechanics of this new technology, he glances back to his friend's smiling face and gives her a slight, urging nod.

"We're wasting time. Let's go!"

The second he walks through the elaborate golden city gates, there's no doubt in his mind anymore, if ever there was one, that this city is definitely a city of royalty and riches. As he eyes the area, he can't help but notice the rows upon rows of huge, ritzy mansions, all surrounded by their own thin, black metal fences. In the distance, the gold, jewel-encrusted tops of an enormous castle loom over the perfectly paved stone streets and beautifully kept colorful courtyards. A tall, spewing round fountain designates the bustling center of the city.

"I always heard this city was beautiful, but I never knew just how much!" Shirley exclaims joyfully as she runs over to the fountain and dips her hands in the water. "I wish we lived here!"

He takes the opportunity to carefully scan and scope out the surrounding people. To his surprise, a familiar, recognizable brunette is standing no more than a few feet away, her back turned toward him.

'_Is that…Norma? What's she doing here?'_

Before he can even walk all the way over to the person, their voice gives them away instantly.

"Yea! Nothing gets past us; we're the fearless trio…ROYAL GUARDIA! Yea, high five, you guys! Red, I love you even more when you run to protect me like that! That'll teach that stupid French spider slut to mess with us!"

The brunette woman throws her arms around a rough, red-haired, half-naked man with an eye patch covering his right eye.

"Awwww, now that's my Bubbles!"

Senel approaches just as he glimpses a gentle kiss between them. He blinks a couple times.

"Norma? Moses?"

The treasure hunter turns in shock.

"Senny?"

"I don' believe it! Is that really you, Senel?... Whoa, long time no see! So what brings ya roun' these parts?"

"I'm just taking a day to catch up with all my friends…since I haven't got a chance to really visit with anyone…because I'm so busy all the time, you know… It's good to see you two again!"

"Pleasure is all mine! You know, we haven't seen ya in so long; we were starting to forget about ya! Think it's been…bout two years now, since before the Legacy sunk… Ain't that right, Bubbles?"

"Yep! So many things have happened since then, let me tell ya! For one, we're part of an elite task force of the king's called the Royal Guard! Whenever the situation calls for it, we're charged with protecting the king and his family from evildoers like…Der Gespenstische Verein! Ooh do they stop by a lot! And that Arachne! What a bunch of show offs! We drive 'em off easily! They can't stand up to our awesome might!"

"The king's Royal Guard, huh? Sounds like there's an ulterior motive behind this... King Menalaus, he's paying you isn't he?"

"Well, duh! That old guy's rollin' in the dough! It's nothing but gald in the bucket to him to pay us! But it's a lot to me, let me tell you!"

"Figures."

"What can I say? I **love** money! Oh, and let me introduce you to another member of our guard. Senny, this is Natalia." Norma gestures to a somewhat tall, golden-blond haired serious-looking woman.

She turns to meet Senel's eyes. A beautiful silver and blue bow along with a quiver of green arrows rests on her back. She greets with a swift bow.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear of the Lanvaldearan archers."

"Senel Coolidge." He nods. "Nice to meet you… Hey Shirley, over here! There's someone I want you to meet."

Responding to his voice, she hurries over quickly.

"Who is it, Senel?" She pants. "…I don't believe it! Norma, Moses? And who's…?"

"Natalia. She's a friend of Norma and Moses. Seems they all work here for the Royal Guard."

Shirley and Natalia shake hands.

"So…how's it goin' with you an Shirley? Y'all married yet?"

An awkward, uncomfortable silence sets in. The alliance marine slowly twists to meet Shirley's face with a confused expression.

"N-no, not yet!" The Merines laughs nervously. "B-but…we were thinking, maybe soon…" She blushes bright red.

"Damn, you ain't married yet, Senel? What are you waitin' for, an invitation? I thought you would be by now… Guess I beat you to it, heh heh…"

Senel's eyes grow wide as frisbees. Shirley gasps.

"You and Norma are…married? C-congratulations! That's so…wonderful! I'm so happy for you two!" The blond exclaims.

"Goin on seven months now…" The bandit continues as he leans over to kiss the top of the brunette's head.

"Congrats."

"When you gonna man up and tie the knot? Yer not gettin' any younger you know."

"Probably just hasn't found the right **person** yet… Am I right, Senny?"

"Senel?"

"I-I have other priorities right now! I don't have time for irrelevant things like that! Maybe in a few years or so…" He blushes slightly.

The Merines exhales slowly while looking down.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you, do you have any info on where everyone's living these days? Know anything about where Will or Jay or Chloe is?" Senel inquires.

"Way to change the subject awful fast, Senny!" She chuckles. "Anyway… Last we heard of Teach, he was working at the Main Research Institute in Puglin. I think JJ went there somewhere too… As for C…the last we saw of her was **way** before the Legacy sank when the she left for her homeland, Gadoria. I'd say that was what, about two years ago, Red?"

"Yea, that sounds about right. We've haven't had any contact with her at all since then… She's been awfully quiet, why…I just about forgot about her to tell ya the truth."

"She must be very busy… I know she would keep in contact if she could. Maybe Jay might know something? Let's check out Puglin, Senel."

The alliance marine nods.

"Alright, I guess that's our next stop. Thanks for everything, Moses…Norma. It was nice seeing you guys; we'll have to come back again soon… See you later! Take care!" He waves back to his friends as he begins backing toward the entrance of the city, Shirley right behind.

"Good luck you two! Come visit anytime! See y'all!"

"Bye!" The Merines yells back before turning to her friend.

At the edge of the city, Senel pauses for a moment.

'_All my friends appear to be alive… What was Aurora talking about when she said all of them were dead? No…wait; didn't she say something about only I know the answer to that? I don't get it; they're all here! What did she mean?'_

"Shirley, where's Puglin?"

"It's a scholarly city with the greatest library in all Rexalia. The renowned Main Research Institute is there, along with the smartest scientists and researchers in the world. It's not too far from here… I'm also not surprised to hear Will works there. He must feel right at home with all those scientific records and fossils."

"Yea, that sounds like Will. He shouldn't be hard to find, let's go!"

They climb aboard the train and ride it till it drops them off at their next location. As they stroll into the new city, he takes note of the surroundings. For one thing, Puglin isn't nearly close to the size Miratamia is. One huge street runs up and down, connecting the Main Research Institute to the city gate. Branching off the street are short sidewalks leading up to tall, stone, ivy-overgrown dormitories; each with a different and unreadable crimson symbol engraved above the door. Merchants of every trade line the right side of the path. Parts and pages of stray books are littered everywhere. Most of the people are dressed in the same attire of a long white lab coat and pointed forest-green elven shoes while carrying one or more curved beakers of brightly colored liquid. As the prominent research institute comes into view, it suddenly becomes bigger than everything else around it. Up close, the immense, elaborate structure, complete with revolving multi-colored glass doors, has a sort of diminishing illusion on anyone who approaches it. It's as if it shrinks the size of anyone looking at it. Once inside, a giant brown skeleton of an ancient monster stands in the middle of the lobby. Red velvet-covered staircases occupy both sides of the far wall. The sign on the right wall reads: Library. The left sign reads: 2nd floor and Historian offices. The iron eren leads the way ascending the left stairway into the upstairs hall. Doors flank the walls on either side every few feet of the next. He walks, inspecting the tiny rectangular sign beside every door until he finds the sign with the name, Mr. Will Raynard on it. Without thinking, he twists the crystal doorknob and pushes the door open.

"Senel! You should knock first!"

In front of them sits a large cluttered desk and the back of a brown-haired man's head, facing down and deep in focus. In response to the voices, he spins around immediately in his chair.

"Senel? Shirley? Well, this is certainly a surprise! May I ask, what brings you here of all places?" The orange clad man announces incredulously as he adjusts his glasses.

"Will! You work here? We're just…taking a day to visit and catch up with everyone. Sorry, did I interrupt you?"

"It's fine, I wasn't doing anything too terribly important…" The crystal eren sighs. "Yes, I work here. I am a natural historian, after all… Wow, it's been so long… Last I saw you two was before the Legacy sank… How time flies! Anyway, how have you been? Where have you been living?"

"We're…doing fine. We live in Kitsuna, on the coast. The ship work keeps me pretty busy so I don't get many free days… How's Harriet? And, can I ask you a question? When you were evacuating the Legacy…did you see everyone on the rescue ship? I know Norma and Moses made it here, and you, but what about Jay and Chloe?"

"Harriet's just fine, thank you. In regards to your question… All I can say for sure is that I remember seeing Norma and Moses, as you said, and…that's it. However, I do recall that Miss Valens left months in advance to return to Gadoria, her home I presume. I doubt she was even on the Legacy at the time it sunk. As for Jay, I know he evacuated with the oresoren a couple weeks prior to the event. He actually lives here in this city. I'm sorry I can't be of much more help. I'm not really the one to ask for information. I'm certain Jay would know. You can usually find him in the library here."

"Alright." Senel gives him a nod. "I'll go talk to him. Thank you, Will. I'll see you around!"

"Take care, Senel. You too, Shirley."

"Bye, Will!" The blond utters as they slip out of his office.

Back down the hall and down the stairs puts them right back in the main lobby where they came in. This time they head for the opposite stairway and pass the sign displaying: Library. As they emerge into the grandest place for books in the whole empire, the room renders them silent. The nearly sky-reaching walls are encased with thousands upon thousands of different colored books on every subject. A few small desks with chairs reside in the middle. Beautiful poinsettias stick out from the room in many places from the centerpieces of every desk to single flowers peeking out every bookshelf and chandelier. The far wall houses a few red plush, luxurious-looking recliners, each with a matching ottoman, as it curves into a dome ceiling.

"Wow, look at all the pretty flowers! I don't remember these being here the last time I came. The poinsettia is the official flower of Gadoria…I wonder why they used them here? Maybe because they symbolize beauty and royalty…" Shirley comments.

'_The official flower of…Gadoria…that's where Chloe's from. I knew it right when I saw them; there's something about those flowers that gives off a comforting feeling…and some other feeling I'm not really sure of, but…I don't like it.'_

As they approach the back wall and recliners, the occupant in the first chair lowers the open book down from over his face and gasps slightly.

"I never thought I'd see you here, Senel."

A dark-haired, unusually short young man dressed in a purple uniform covered in green and yellow shapes glares up at them.

"Jay?"

"Jay! We were looking for you! We were hoping you could give us some information… But first, what are you doing here in Puglin?" The alliance marine responds.

"I could ask you the same question…but I won't waste my time. You're obviously here for information. I took up residence here when I safely escorted the oresoren off the Legacy many days before its demise. It's a quiet, quaint little town that's perfect for almost everything I need to do. Unfortunately, it's just a bit too small and remote for me to gather much info on what's going on in the empire. It's a shame this city has to be closer to Crusand's border than to Miratamia… We all know how incorrigible Crusand is; I don't even have to tell you. Ever since so many of their cities started being ransacked and demolished by the famous Gespenstische Verein, King Raphael has raised military security and stopped nearly all trade with us, in addition to becoming so adamant on everything. But that's a whole other issue I don't want to get into at the moment… I suppose you'd find it the least bit interesting to know that I take care of Harriet most of the time now, since Will's out on archaeological finds so often, and she helps look after the oresoren for me. Once you get past her mediocre baking ability, she's actually not too annoying of a person. I actually rather enjoy her company…"

"Wait, hold up. Jay, you know about Der Gespenstische Verein?" Senel inquires.

"Well, of course I do. What kind of information dealer would I be if I didn't have any info on the world's newest threat?"

"Then tell me, do you know what they want with these…elixir stones?" He reaches in and grabs his dark red stone out of his pocket.

Jay gasps while examining the stone.

"W-where did you get this? How did you, of all people, come to posses one of the six sacred elixir stones?"

"I-I don't really remember all the details, but I took this from a dark knight one night a little while ago…in Miratamia. I wasn't able to kill him because he slipped away…"

"Tch, must've been suffering from previous injuries before for **you** to ever get that lucky! They're not taken down that easily…I know full well. I had a previous encounter with one and barely made it out of there alive! They're nobody you want to mess around with… As for that stone, guard it with your life!"

"With my life…? What's so special about these things? Why is Der Gespenstische Verein after them so much?"

The information dealer takes a deep breath as he tilts his head down.

"You don't have a clue as to their ultimate plans…do you? Seeing as you already have a piece of their puzzle, it's only fair that you know what you're getting yourself into… My sources inform me…Der Gespenstische Verein intends to use the power of the elixir stones to open the Gates of Hell and flood the world with the ancient, most powerful monsters that were banished long ago. This supposedly would kill everyone eventually, although they would have the power to instantly dispose of anyone at will in any manner they chose…"

"The Gates of Hell?"

Jay nods.

"It's the gateway between this world and the realm of monsters. And also the place where you must destroy the six elixir stones…after you get a hold of them all and steal the ones Der Gespenstische Verein already has, that is. But the gate will only open if you miraculously manage to acquire all of them."

"Do you know how many stones they already have?"

"In that regard, I couldn't tell you. But I am certain that as long as you have that one stone, it is only a matter of time, and not much of it, until they'll start to come after you and hunt you down to recover it… You'll also be a prime target because you use eres."

"Why are they going after erens so much?"

"Don't tell me you're that ignorant! Eres is the only force that could ever stand against them. Regular humans pose no threat at all; they crush them as if they were mere ants! And you haven't forgotten about the special abilities they're after as well?"

"You mean…the shielding and tracking abilities on other erens?"

"And let's not forget the other two…rarer ones…telepathic communication and spot healing without utilizing crystal eres… Not that you could ever use these abilities anyway…"

"Why not? Doesn't it involve some kind of special…bond or something?"

"Precisely. And I'm almost certain you don't have that type of bond with anyone."

"How do you know? All of my friends are erens; we all share that bond of friendship!"

"…It is more than just friendship, Senel. It's a bond of well…more feeling…I suppose you'd call it…love."

Senel gasps.

"Love…? W-we have that, Senel, don't we? W-we c-could do that, right?"

"Y-yea, I-I guess… How can you say that about me, Jay? You don't know my life!"

"Hmmm…well, I'll let you try it out for yourselves someday and see what happens… Just, promise me one thing…that you'll tell me afterwards that I was right and you failed."

"Shut up! That's not gonna… Hey, wait…how exactly do you do any of those effects?"

"Well I have tried out the tracker and barrier myself with Will… It's not that hard, you just have to focus your energy and will your eres to perform the task you wish to initiate… That's all there is to it… I am not able to use the stronger abilities, but I'm assuming they work in the same way. Try them out sometime as they will undoubtedly help you protect Shirley if you ever find yourselves at the mercy of Der Gespenstische Verein or a dark knight."

"I will, thanks." He nods. "That would explain why erens seem to be disappearing… It all makes sense now. Wait, you're an iron eren, Jay… Do you think you could help us…?"

"As much as I would like to, and believe me, knowing that you two are the ones undertaking this doesn't give me a comforting feeling when I go to bed at night, I'm too busy with Harriet for the time being."

Before the alliance marine has a chance to respond, a light-brown longhaired, blue-eyed, strangely dressed woman suddenly approaches behind.

"Oh hi there, Shirley! I wasn't expecting to see you here! Senel, how's Luke doing?" She announces genuinely, her skinny, long black dress with thin white lines running down swaying from moving.

"Huh? W-who **are **you? How do you know my name?"

"What? What do you mean? It's me, Tear…you know…"

"Oh, don't mind him! He's got a slight case of amnesia from an injury yesterday; he's been forgetting a lot of things today. Please…don't take it personally, Tear. He's not doing this on purpose." The Merines explains quickly.

"Oh…I see. I'm sorry; I'll introduce myself then. I'm Tear Grants, elite seventh fonist melodist. I'm a traveling nurse who's currently taking care of Madam Mussette. Please, don't hesitate to call me if you ever need help."

"What's wrong with Mussette?" Shirley wonders, concerned.

"The poor thing, she's getting so old…her health has started to disintegrate and she has become very frail and weak these days…I'm not sure how much longer she has to live…"

"Poor Mussette…"

"What's your relationship to Luke?" Senel asks.

"He's…a long time friend. I don't get to see him much because my job as a nurse keeps me too busy. Although right now, my work seems to be slowing down a bit, and I have some free time now. I'd like to visit him sometime soon… Are you by any chance going back to Kitsuna right now?"

"No, not yet, I still need to find the rest of my friends…"

"I understand. Perhaps I'll go alone then…"

"Oh, hey Jay, I wanted to ask you about someone. Have you heard from Chloe lately?"

"Not in a long time…I'd say it was about a year ago I lost contact with her. The last I heard…she was living in Baltoga, the grand capital of Gadoria. Since the Legacy sunk, that's all the info I've managed to gather on her."

"So…she made it off the Legacy before it was gone?"

"Senel, she wasn't even **on** the Legacy when it went under! If you're so worried about her, why don't you go to Gadoria and talk to her yourself!"

"Maybe I will! C'mon Shirley, let's go!"

The Merines turns to follow the alliance marine.

"Senel…" Shirley whispers discreetly to herself.

"Thanks for everything, Jay! It was nice meeting you, Tear! We'll have to keep in touch! Bye you guys!" He shouts back at them, a little too loud for a library.

Before they even hear their friends' goodbyes, they're already halfway down the red velvet staircase. Once they reach the terminal, Shirley notices the sky appears darker than it had been a while ago.

"Look at all the dark clouds rolling in. Looks like a storm may be coming… Let's hurry back before we get caught in the downpour, okay?"

Ignoring her words, he scans the map on the terminal and pushes the button to activate the train.

"I never knew Gadoria was that far away. According to this map, it's tucked away somewhere in the Northern tip of the Mainland… No wonder they all lost contact with her."

"We'll find her, Senel, don't worry." She reassures him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "She's a noble, I'm sure she lives on her manor like every other noble. And I'm sure she's already mar…" She stops her thought as soon as it blossoms, for she doesn't want to imagine what reaction it could possibly bring out in her closest friend.

Luckily, the lightening-fast train rolls to a shrieking stop before them and beckons them to board. Unlike the previous train rides, this train runs the tracks for a couple minutes instead of a couple seconds. When they step foot on now Gadorian soil, they can't help but sense that the air carries a different feeling than they felt in Rexalia. A cold and somewhat arrogant, unsettling feeling hangs in the atmosphere as Shirley and Senel cross into the broad, black gates of Baltoga. Despite the uncomfortable feeling clouding up the area, the city itself appears to be functioning perfectly normal. Most of the houses exhibit the same style of modern gothic architecture with a slight Germanic spin, giving them an upper class, lavish country look. Bouquets of glittering gold-centered, bright red poinsettias flank every corner, porch, and inside of open windows. Puffy, big red bows are tied around every streetlamp and sign. An old, stone grey gothic church stands in the middle of the city at a busy intersection connecting four main streets.

"How are we supposed to find her house out of all these houses and streets? There's too many and they all look the same! It could be any one of these! Why does this city have to be so confusing?"

"Well, she's a noble, right? The king should know her. Why don't we ask him where she is? I'm pretty sure that's Charlemagne's castle…over there." She points to a huge white, modern, yet traditional looking castle up ahead.

"King Charlemagne?"

She nods. "King Charlemagne the fifth to be exact. He doesn't exactly have a reputation for being nice; I've heard he's quite a pompous snob. Though, I'm sure he's a good king… And as long as were polite, I'm sure it wouldn't bother him if we just asked him about her."

They make their way to the doors of the royal castle only to be stopped by two guards blocking off the way with crossed broadswords.

"Halt! Who goes there? What business have you with King Charlemagne the fifth?"

"I want to ask him about someone." Senel responds.

The two guards, dressed in blue and white knight uniform, exchange a glance for a minute. No one speaks for a moment.

"…You may pass." They swing their swords to the side, opening up the path.

The Merines runs in, right behind the alliance marine, to a high-ceiling, blue and white antechamber, a heavy-set man with a golden crown adorning his head in a plush chair taking up space in the center.

"Your majesty, uh, King Charlemagne…I-I have a question for you."

Alerted by the sound of his name, the king instantly locks his eyes on the iron eren.

Charlemagne clears his throat. "What is it you wish to ask?" His smooth, snobbish voice rings.

"I was wondering if you knew where we might find…Chloe Valens?"

"Ah… Lady Valens…I remember her quite well." He shuts his eyes for a moment as if he's trying to remember something. "She was Gadoria's biggest traitor, I recall. But you don't have to worry about her… I had her executed for treason all of a year ago." The king declares coldly without batting an eye.

Those words paralyze him. He blinks a couple times. An uncontrollable, strong sting of pain suddenly welts up inside him. He tries to fight it off, but it only grows stronger the more he repeats the king's words over and over. The silence feels as loud as if glass just shattered.

"E-executed? How could you...?" He demands, shakily.

Charlemange stares back with a blank, unwavering glare.

"How could I not? I was merely doing my duty as king to punish those who have committed such heinous crimes against our government. Treason happens to be one of the worst… I was only delivering justice back to Gadoria that had been so unjustly wronged. I know Lady Valens believed in justice as a former knight of-"

"You...damn bastard! How **dare** you! I don't want to hear your **damn** lies about justice! You had no right to kill a human being, no matter what they did! I'll send you to hell!" He clenches his fists and charges right toward Charlemange, fully enraged.

Before he can get very far, two guards swiftly jump in front of the king, protecting him. His knuckles clash hard against the sharp crossed blades, sending him staggering backwards.

"Senel! W-what are you **doing**? You can't kill him, he's the king!"

"Dammit! Damn you! Damn you to hell!" He grits his teeth fiercely, exerting enough force to almost shatter them.

"If you wish to see her, you can visit her grave in the Sacred Stream graveyard over in the Neudaiz sector, on the Eastern edge of the city border. Furthermore, you are hereby dismissed! I forbid you to ever return here! Leave!"

The alliance marine turns to leave, disregarding Shirley's horrified gaze. Right as he's about to leave, Senel flips an obscene hand gesture in the king's direction. Once outside, he rejoins Shirley looking at a map of the city.

"…According to this, Neudaiz is just beyond a few rows of houses east of the church."

He nods. It doesn't take long until they come upon an ancient stone sign with the words 'Sacred Stream' etched in blue. Once they enter, they're bombarded with little, pink, blowing sakura flowers from the nearby trees. Wasting no time, they start examining row after row of graves till they finally come across a short, grey, flowerless tombstone reading the name Chloe Valens. At first, he stands still gazing upon it, incredulously, as if this is all some crazy dream he's stuck in, and all he needs to do is wake up and see that everything is alright and everyone's still alive. He blinks several times and slowly walks up to the tombstone, his girlfriend staying behind.

'_Why? Why did this have to happen? I could've prevented this! I could've saved her! But…I never got the chance… No…this is wrong! This is all wrong! It wasn't supposed to be like this! If only I would've known…I would've been with her at the time the Legacy was sinking… But now…she's…gone. Chloe…I'm sorry, I wish I...would've done something to save you… I wish I...had been a better…friend…'_

Watching him stare silently at her grave, Shirley notices a few drops of water slide down the bottom of his chin and splash on his clenched fist.

"Are you…alright, Senel?"

"…Yea…I-I'm fine…"

"You were really close to her…weren't you?"

"Yea-I mean, I was…as close to her as I was with any other one of my friends…"

"…You were in love with her, weren't you?"

He gasps loudly, causing more tears to start raining down his cheek.

"I-it wasn't like that! I-I didn't—! I never—!" He swallows. "…W-we never…we didn't have that kind of relationship!"

"Then tell me…why are you crying?"

"I-I would cry if **any** one of my friends died!"

"But…your tears… They're different…I can feel them."

A great silence persists between them. After a few minutes, he finally speaks.

"Let's go…"

When he turns around, she catches sight of his wet, red tear-stained eyes for a split second before he continues past her, avoiding her gaze.

'_Chloe… Wait…didn't Aurora mention something about all my friends being dead? But they're not all dead…just… N-no! C-could this mean…it's only a matter of time till they all…one by one… fall like dominoes? Was Chloe just the first one to fall? But, why? Why did it have to be __**her**__? Why couldn't it have been…someone…anyone else? Aurora…is this what you meant when you told me to protect my friends…? But I…never got the chance to save her… She was already gone before I… Dammit…! Why? Why did you do this? Why did you put me here? Was this really supposed to happen? No matter what happens from here on…I swear, I'll protect Shirley with everything I've got, till her heart stops beating!'_

At the gates of the city, the sky remains just as dark as it was earlier as the rail terminal comes into focus in the distance.

-++/\\\\\\\\\\\++-

As always, reviews are welcome!

Hope you liked it! Hope it wasn't too depressing and now you all want to start a riot cause I just did that! Haha, hope not! I blame all the industrial and sad music I've been listening to for inspiration. Special thanks goes out to Xonel for keeping me motivated to continue this. Anyway, does anyone possibly wish to know what will happen next after that oh so sad chapter? Well, if you answered yes, and I don't know why you would, you'll have to find out in Chapter 3!

Merry Christmas everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

Rainypanda: Hay hay! I'm back! Moving has been kicking my rear for a while, then with the holidays! Ughhhh! But I managed somehow to write this up in my spare time. And then there were the Christmas parties, and the food. Oh food, yummy! :D So, after I left you guys on the edge in that shocking chapter, I decided to continue this tale and hopefully guide this story in my chosen path… Anyway, here it is, enjoy!

And I warn you, you may want to stop reading this right now because it's going get even more depressing as it goes on, or I think so, so I'm telling you right now, go grab your Xoloft, Cymbalta, Paxil or whatever anti-depressant suits your fancy because you're going to need it.

And I'd just like know if any of you actually listen to my songs of inspiration, because there are some clues in there! I don't just put in any song I like, they all relate in some way to the chapter, so you may want to pay attention to them!

Songs of inspiration include: Planetary (GO!)~My Chemical Romance, Franklin~Paramore, Wolf~Angelspit, Making Money~Angelspit, I Don't Love You~My Chemical Romance, Hilf Mir Fliegen~Tokio Hotel, Don't Jump~Tokio Hotel, Love Is Dead~Tokio Hotel, On The Edge~Tokio Hotel, Black~Tokio Hotel, That Day~Tokio Hotel, Strange~Tokio Hotel ft. Kerli

Disclaimer: Namco owns all its tales characters.

Chapter 3

The rain is steadily pelting the two erens as they walk, almost stiff, into the place they now call home.

"Senel, a-about Chloe, I-I wanted to tell you…but—"

"Y-you knew? Why didn't you tell me?"

Shirley turns her head away. "I-I wanted you to be happy…and not worry about anything. If you found out…I knew you would have a hard time getting over it. I just…couldn't bear to see you so sad and depressed. It…breaks my heart to see you like that…" She starts to sob, while tears form on the corners of her eyes.

"Shirley…" His eyes find his way to hers. "No matter what happens, you'll always be the most important person in the world to me… Nothing could ever come between us. Nobody…not even…her…" He can't bring himself to say her name.

"But-!"

"But nothing! You were always worth more to me than anyone!"

"You say that…but…it was with her that I always saw you smiling and laughing and…you looked so happy. I can't talk to you and understand you like she could…I—"

"None of that matters anymore! She's gone! I-if I wanted to be with her, I-I would've been… But I chose you, Shirley…"

"Then why won't you ever…" She studies him curiously. "Forget it…"

"Huh? What? Tell me!"

"Well…you promised me a few years ago that...we'd have…a child. But…every time we talk about getting married, you make up another excuse about how you have to go do this or that, or that it's not a good time…"

"N-no that's not true! W-we will be married soon! But this really isn't a good time and I just…don't want to hurt you!"

"That one's getting old, Senel." She takes a breath. "You know…at this rate, you're going to die alone, unhappy and forgotten… and I'd just hate to see that happen to you…"

"W-what? T-that's not going to happen; I won't let it! And I'm not going to let this tear us apart! I can't lose you! I-I…I need you…I love you Shirley." He wraps his arms around her tightly in a close embrace.

She hugs him tightly, as if hanging on for dear life. A couple teardrops run down her cheek as she lies happily and content in his arms, wishing this moment would never end.

"I love you too Senel."

The next day, Senel approaches the Prometheus dock to see a young, dark-haired girl conversing with Jade.

"Hmmmm… most interesting. As much as I'd hate to relieve him of today's fun and give him the day off, unfortunately, this matter calls for our utmost urgency if it means one of those is floating around." The captain speculates.

"Jade, I'm here! What do you need me to—"

"Oh Senel! Hi there my hottie! I haven't seen you in a while! How've you been? Oh how I've missed you!" She squeals in delight between giggles.

"A-Anise? What the?"

Jade lets out a chuckle. "Your secret admirer is back."

"Secret what? What did you just call me?"

"Oh Senel, you know you're my little hottie! You and Luke! And one day we're going to get married…since you're still fresh meat and all! Hehe!" She prances up to him and throws her arms around his waist.

"W-what the? Hey, get your hands off me! There's no way I would **ever** marry you!"

She pulls away reluctantly. "How could you be so mean and crush a girl's dreams? Huh, Senel? What's your excuse?"

"I-I am **actually** e-engaged…as of yesterday!" He blushes, turning to the side, trying not to look them in the eye for fear they see through his words.

Anise gasps loudly. "Say it isn't so! The blond bitch wins again!"

"Oh really, now?" Jade questions skeptically.

"Y-yea! I-it's official... And **what** did you just call her, Anise?"

"Hehe…nothing, nothing! Nothing at all Senel! I would never call anyone a bad name, nope not me, hehe!"

"I never want to hear you say that word again! I hate that word…it's so degrading to women. No one should have to be subjected so low… So, what are you doing here anyway?"

"I just received an urgent message from the king requesting your help regarding a secret matter."

"A secret matter? Like what?"

"Seems they got word of a possible elixir stone hidden somewhere deep within the Caldere ruins located in the mid Eastern Vulkan desert." The captain explains.

The young girl nods. "And the Royal Guard has requested your help in finding it. Ooh we need to get to it before Der Gespenstische Verein does! Yep yep! So, can we count on your cooperation?"

"How can I refuse? I have to get a hold of all of those stones before they do! Of course I'm going!"

"Pity… You're going to have to miss the** extremely** exciting day I had planned for you for skipping out on yesterday… Ah, but I suppose it **can** wait until tomorrow…"

"Great! I'll inform the Royal guard immediately and have them meet up with you there promptly. Be safe, my dearest Senel!" She blows a kiss to the alliance marine before she scampers off.

"Wait, hold on! Where do I even find the Caldere ruins? Where the heck is the Vulkan desert?"

"Oh I assure you it's not **too** terribly hard to find… Should be close to Parum's Peak mountain checkpoint out there."

Senel nods and crosses his arms. "And I'm think I'm gonna throw up if she calls me her 'dearest' one more time! Or anyone for that matter…"

"Even Shirley?"

"Shut up! T-That's…grrr!"

"That's different? Well, in any case, don't get yourself killed out there…my **dearest** Senel!" He mocks sarcastically.

"Jade I swear, I'm about **this** close to punching your fu-!"

"Senel, there you are! I was looking for you… I have a client that needs his boat repaired and I told him you would do that for him this afternoon. He's paying 10,000 Gald!" The Ferines girl exclaims.

"Can't. I just got an important assignment about some lead on an elixir stone and I have to go!"

"You…did? That's, well…great! Can I…um…go with you?"

"Who knows what could be lurking there? It might get dangerous even though we're working with Norma's gang…are you sure about this? I don't want anything to happen to you. I couldn't live with myself if—"

"I-I'll be fine! Please, don't worry about me Senel! I'll always have your back. We're a team…I'm sure, together, we can handle it, right?"

He nods. "Support us with healing as much as you can…alright?"

"I'll do my best!"

At the rail terminal, the two erens plot their course for Parum's Peak and in minutes, arrive at a nearly deserted, old wooden inn standing in what seems to be the middle of nowhere. A creaky, hanging sign reads: Turn back. Stark monster sightings reported beyond this point. Past the inn lies a vast, endless desert, the sand swirling in every direction aimlessly. Over a few tall hills of ivory sand, a tall, dark-golden cylinder-shaped structure materializes faintly in the distance. The peculiar landmark grows clearer and more detailed as they get closer. Shirley slows to a stop as they approach what appears to be the entrance to this…ruin?

"Slow down Senel! I think we found it! This must be the place!" Her high-pitched voice echoes off the exterior walls.

"Yo Shirl, Senny, I see ya! Over here!" A dark shadow waves both hands in the air on the wall right around the corner.

"Shhhh! Keep it down Bubbles, yer gonna cause a cave-in!"

"Yes, it would be in order to keep our voices to a minimum."

As Senel and Shirley round the corner, they catch a quick sight of a yellow-clad woman yanking on a chunk of red hair.

"Yeeeow! Hey, hands off the sexy hair! Ya know how long it took me to grow that?"

Norma giggles. "I love messing with you Red! Hearing you scream in pain always turns me on!"

"Norma? Are we in the right place? Is this it?" Shirley wonders.

"Sure is! Rumor is…there's a stone hidden past these traps at the very bottom of this place and we gotta find it!"

"Traps?" Senel remarks.

"Gotta make it interesting I suppose! I'm sure it's nuthin I can't handle! Everyone, follow me! I'll lead us right to that treasure!"

"Remember, if I'm ever about to die, you take my place, okay Red?"

"Heh heh, yeah right…we'll see about that…not!"

"How uncaring, how unspeakably cruel! And I thought you loved me Red!"

"What the? Damn right I love you Bubbles! I'm just messin' with ya is all!"

"You'd die for Shirl and wouldn't think twice about it, wouldn't you Senny?"

"I-I…o-of course I would!"

"Y-You would…? Oh Senel…" She smiles, overcome with emotion.

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's get a move on!" The bandit shouts as he leads the way down the wide damp steps into the doorway beyond.

Two dimly lit torches burn on either side of the entrance. Strange, faded drawings of monsters decorate the crumbling and eroding walls. Through the cavern, all is silent except for a constant dripping sound bouncing off the walls. Moses grabs a torch and offers the other to Natalia. Through the darkness ahead, a small altar casts a shadow on the adjacent wall. As they walk closer, huge, white blood-tipped spikes shoot up and down in fast timed motion in a row from wall to wall just a few steps in front of them.

"Ahhh! Spikes! Don't kill me!" Norma screams and jumps back.

"We must have triggered a trap. It appears to be safeguarding that altar." The archer observes.

"Hey, I got an idea. Bubbles, stand over here for a sec."

"What's up…?" A strange pause ensues between them. "Oooh! Clever! Since when did you get so smart, Red? Guess you can't be our stupid bandit anymore. But, hey wait! Not me! We need someone else…"

"Huh? What just happened? Did I miss something? Did she just…read his mind?" The marine verbalizes.

"Hel-lo, telepathic communication, remember? Geez, you're slow Senny! Red had an idea to keep up a barrier on me as I roll through the bloody daggers of death. But I say, let's use Shirl instead! I'm no good with danger and this stuff!"

"Why me? I don't want to die either!"

"You won't! We just need Senny to do his part and put a shield around you as you make it to the other side and find a way to disarm these death traps! You got it? You're on, Senny!"

"Well, why does Shirley have to go? Moses, you can protect Norma too! I say, to make it fair, you both go!"

"What? Oh, please, don't make me go, Red! You know how I feel about this stuff!"

"…He's got a point Bubbles. And with two of you over there, it'll make it easier to find the shut-off. Don' worry, I ain't gonna let 'em hurt ya!"

"Ohh, Red! Why? Is this any way to treat me?"

Suddenly his hands start glowing a bright red color as he casts them in his wife's direction. Instantly, a hexagonal transparent barrier glowing in the same bright red fully encases and surrounds Norma. Senel follows after as he turns his fists the same glowing way, except for his eres aura color, which is blue, and directs them in Shirley's direction. Successfully, a glowing, blue five-pointed star barrier comes around to protect her. She gasps in delight.

"Y-you did it, Senel! It's so beautiful!"

"I…did! I did it! Alright!" The alliance marine exclaims confidently. "Why is my barrier different from yours, Moses?"

"Every eren is unique. It only follows their eres is unique, so I guess everyone's barrier has got a different shape. I saw Will's and Jay's once; Will's got an orange pyramid and Jay a green cube. Pretty soon you'll get to see Bubbles's."

"I wonder what Shirl's looks like?"

"I-I've never used it…so I don't know. I hope it's something pretty!"

"How long will this barrier last before it fades away?"

"It'll dissolve as soon as you drop your focus. Just hold it till they make it across." The bandit informs him.

The two woman enclosed in iridescent eres barriers hesitantly crawl toward the bloody spikes. The Merines finally takes the first step into the jabbing spears. To her surprise and relief, they don't hurt her at all as she walks over them. She doesn't even feel them. After she takes the last step over them and arrives on the opposite side, the treasure hunter takes a deep breath and runs as fast as her legs can carry her till she's standing right next to Shirley. A few seconds later, the barriers disappear.

"Whew! Made it!"

"Damn girl! You ran like a ghost was chasing ya!"

"Those stupid spikes make me nervous just looking at 'em, much less going over them! It doesn't matter that they weren't going to hurt me, just look at them! Look how evil and red they are! They're just calling me to die!"

"Just worry 'bout finding a disarming switch or sumthin, alright?"

"Gotcha! On it, c'mon Shirl!"

Meanwhile on the other side, Senel gazes around impatiently.

'_Well, I already tried out the shield. There's still the tracker, mind telepathy, and healing… Might as well do something else while I'm standing here waiting.'_

He starts to focus all his thoughts on Shirley and his hands, to his amazement, begin flashing in his familiar, shining blue eres glow. He shifts them in her direction and watches as the glow gains speed flashing faster and faster.

"I see your tracker works real well!"

"Really?"

"Yep! The closer you get to them, the faster it blinks till it can't go no faster. If ya start movin away, it gets slower and ya know yur goin the wrong way."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." His hands quit flashing. "Oh yeah, what kind of range is there on these abilities?"

"Ah, well…healing requires a pretty close proximity of course…and so does the mind talking to an extent. The barrier on the other hand is pretty far ranged, like oh, I dunno, 'bout from here to that far wall over there. Now the tracker is real nice in that you can use that from anywhere! Another room, another empire, don't matter! She's a beauty like that!"

"Nice. So…I could track…anyone…from anywhere?"

"Sure. Well, only if they're an eren that is."

"Hmmm…what if I…"

'_Shirley, it's me! Can you hear me? I'm testing out our telepathic communication. Please, say something if you can hear me!'_

A couple minutes pass without hearing a response in his mind.

"Hey Shirley, did you hear me just now?" He radiates his voice.

"Huh? No. What did you say?"

"I talked to you in your mind… You didn't hear me?"

"No…"

'_I wonder…'_

Once again, a blue shine emanates from his fists as he shifts them at a different person. This time nothing happens.

"Huh? What the?"

A blue star barrier forms around Moses when the alliance marine turns them in the opposite direction.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Senel, Natalia's not an eren. These abilities **only** work on erens, ya dummy!"

"Why can't Shirley hear me when I try to talk to her in my head? Do we have to be married like you two?"

"I…dunno. If I remember right…I think we **were** able to mind talk before we got married… You should be able to… You love her, right?"

"O-of course!"

"Does she love you?"

"I-I think! I-I'm sure she does!"

"I dunno what to tell ya then… Keep trying, alright? If it's meant to be, you'll get it…I know it!"

"Hey Red, I think we found it! But we can't get it to budge; it's stuck! Can you get over here and help?"

"Well it's about time, ya super slowpoke! Guide me over!"

The next second, a golden yellow, octagonal eres barrier wraps around the red-haired eren. As soon as it's fully covering him, he sprints over the bouncing spikes to where the two girls are standing.

"See this switch? It won't freaking move!" She yanks on the lever.

"Outta the way ya wimps, let me do this!"

"Hey!"

In one powerful motion, he swings the ancient lever to the other side, sending the popping spikes down with it.

"Ha ha! There ain't nuthin I can't handle!"

"You're nothing but a big show off, Red!"

Senel and Natalia go over the part of floor that was just covered in spikes and near the now unguarded altar.

"Hey, look! There's some sort of wheel mechanism on here."

"Ooh, what does it do? Turn it, turn it!" Norma urges.

Without thinking, the white-haired eren twists the rusted wheel. A hidden, heavy stone panel opens up on the far wall ahead.

"Alright, Senny! Destination set!"

"Yaaahooo! We rock y'all!"

Before they can say another word, a loud thump sounds from behind. A figure swings a large sword aiming right at the alliance marine.

"Senel, look out!" The Ferines girl gasps.

Right as the dark blade is about to slice him in two, a bright, white shining raindrop barrier encases him and blocks the weapon, clashing against it as if it were a piece of thick glass. As he glimpses upon his attacker's face, he gasps in horror in what appears before his eyes. Instead of a face, a pitch-black fully concealing helmet stares back at him. A matching all-black stealth uniform accompanies the pure black boots complete with a matching black belt and dark red sheath hanging from it. The dark fighter lashes out to strike the eren again, but this time, Senel charges back with just as much force to send them both backwards in whiplash.

"Feel my wrath! Oh lightless tempest from distant regions, stretch out thy tenebrous arms and lead my enemies to their eternal slumber! Black hole!"

A dark crystal eres engulfs the figure and pins him down, pulsing dark energy into him and thrusting him hard against the back wall. He groans when he hits the ground, spewing rivers of blood from his legs. Rather quickly, he arises and starts to run toward them again only to be blocked by the bandit's spear. He rams his halberd fiercely, clinking loudly against the spear. A few arrows fly right past the attacker, barely missing him by a hair on his left side. He finds an opening and jabs the sword into the eren's shoulder and immediately pulls it back out, fully covered in dripping fresh blood. Moses falls to the ground on his knees, gasping for air.

"Red!"

"Oh comet whose brilliance lightens even the darkest of skies, favor this ground for the fulfillment of thy eternal journey! Shooting Stars!"

Just then, a myriad of huge colorful stars descends out of nowhere and collides upon the figure, knocking him down in a powerful array of light. Seizing the opportunity, the alliance marine rushes over to him and delivers a swift, yet powerful blow with his hand glowing blue directly at the dark figure's head. Almost immediately, more red streams of gushing warm blood pour out of his helmet and body, creating a bloody bath all around. Wanting to guarantee he won't be getting back up, the iron eren pounds a series of more punches into the still body, all the while enjoying the adrenaline rush.

"Senel, that's enough! Stop it, now! I'm sure you killed him!" Shirley cries.

Listening to her words, he stops reluctantly and backs away, trying to wipe all the stained and dripping blood off his hands.

"Red Red! Hold on! I'm coming!"

She hurries over and kneels down next to her husband, worry sketched across her features.

"I'm fine…Really Bubbles… Just got a…cut in my shoulder here… He was…too strong." He breathes heavily.

"Don't be stupid, let me heal you!"

Her crystal eres gives off a light green glow as it encompasses the bandit and his wound slowly begins to vanish and his blood dries up.

"Senel, are you hurt? I'll heal you."

"No, I'm fine. But, thanks Shirley…for saving me earlier. I owe you one."

She nods slightly and smiles triumphantly.

"We did it! We killed one of the dark knights!"

"Yea… Now I'm just curious, what type of guys are these…?"

As he hovers near the bloody, dark body, he reaches over underneath its neck and rips off the thick, black helmet.

The Merines and the marine share a shocking gasp.

On the ground lies a bloody, blond, shorthaired handsome young man who looks not much older than Senel himself.

"He looks like just an ordinary citizen! It's sick how Der Gespenstische Verein is using such young boys to carry out their dirty work! …Hey Senel, see if he has an elixir stone!"

He searches the body closely, even turning it over to inspect all places he might have hidden a stone in. About a minute passes and he shakes his head disappointingly.

"No elixir stone…"

"I bet he was trying to beat us to the elixir stone that's hiding in here! That's what you get for trying to mess with us! Right, Red?"

"Damn right!"

"But I'm still wondering…why didn't my hands glow, like they did once before, when this dark knight appeared here just now? I thought it was my eres sending me a warning sign of incoming danger… But how come it didn't go off this time?"

"Maybe…because it wasn't so dangerous when all of us were around, but when you're all alone…yea." Norma suggests.

"Hmmm…I guess. Still, it was strange…"

He turns his head to catch sight of his red-haired friend placing a hand on the brunette's forearm and watching as it somehow creates a unique lime green glistening sparkle seeping out between his fingers.

"Feelin better?"

"Lots! Thanks Red!"

"Whoa! What did you just do?"

"That's the special healing ability. It only works on minor to some moderate injuries though, so don't go tryin to use it on everything. If the w0und's too big, it just ain't gonna work…or so I've been told. Give it a try! You'll still see the light even if there ain't a cut to heal."

"How do you…do that?"

"Nuthin to it! Just place a hand over what you want to heal, like this." He uses Norma as a model. "Then, hold it there until you see the light, and you'll feel the wound closing up and gettin back to normal. Then, lift yur hand up and viola! It should be all gone!"

"Shirley, come over here. Let me try that out."

Senel touches a hand gently to the Merines's arm.

"You can do it Senel; I know it! Just focus!"

Using all his energy and willpower, he concentrates on nothing but being able to heal the woman he cares so much for. Desperately expecting something to come, nothing happens.

'_No!'_

They wait a few more minutes. Still, nothing changes.

"Dammit! Why? Why isn't it working? Am I doing something wrong?"

"I…I don't know… But, hey we're falling behind! Come on; let's catch up with the others! We can worry about this later, okay?"

Through the newly opened passageway, a large square chamber presents itself seemingly isolated from the rest of the ruin as being a dead end. The trio appears to be overly fascinated by something on the back wall.

"Hey, what are you all looking at?" The blond asks.

"You gotta check out this weird writing on the wall over here! It looks like some sort of poem or something…" The treasure hunter explains enthusiastically.

"…Wow! This is…awfully sad, but yet…so poignant! Whoever wrote this must've been an amazing person! I wonder if it was some kind of prophesy? …Want me to read it out loud?" Shirley offers somewhat shyly.

The group nods in agreement.

"When I thought everything was black, and that love was dead, they came to rescue me. When I was on the edge, and I wanted to break away, they told me don't jump. They told me to scream it out loud, and when they said ready set go, not even one thousand oceans could stop me. They told me to live every second as if it was the final day. But most important of all, they told me: I am by your side."

"Whoa! Dem ancient people must'a been good writers… Or just had a bit too much time on dere hands, I say!"

"Awwww, I think it's sweet!" The Ferines woman adds.

"Yeah yeah! But, where the heck is that elixir stone? We've reached the end here, and I don't see any treasure!" Norma pouts.

Suddenly without warning, a crack bolts and zigzags across the floor under them, splitting the ground apart. The chasm grows wider as it continues to spread in both directions, ripping a black, bottomless hole in the center of the chamber.

"Bubbles, I told ya to keep yur big trap shut! Now look what ya've done!" He yells loudly over the rumbling and falling rocks.

"I-I didn't mean to, I-!" She doesn't realize how close she is to the edge until she moves her foot and takes a step onto thin air. "Ahhhhh!" Her fading screams become muffled as she falls deeper and deeper into darkness.

"Norma!" Shirley gasps.

"Buubbllllesss!"

"Look out!" Senel shouts.

A large, red, black horned dragon swoops down from above, bombarding them with burning infernos. Just missing the flames, they crouch down on the now still floor, now separating Senel and Shirley from what remains of the royal guard. When they arise, the massive dragon is now hovering down on their level, preparing to launch another attack. The white haired eren runs in, about to unleash an eres, when he's blown back by the intense winds of the monster's wings.

"Yo, over here!"

The red haired bandit's spear pokes at the leather-tough belly of the beast, trying to pierce it.

"I could use some help over here!"

"Oh frozen world awash in the purest white, rain down the final chill curtain to lay these wandering souls to rest! Blizzard!"

A harsh snowstorm pelts the dragon mercilessly, diverting his attention.

"Now!"

The next instant, a perfectly aimed arrow hits and pierces the dragon's heart, shattering its grip on life. It cries out in pain as it's wings close up and it crashes down into the big chasm without a sound thereafter. Breathing heavily, the alliance marine gets up.

"Did we…kill it?"

"Bubbles, can you hear me? Please, say something! Please Bubbles! Anything!"

Silence.

"No…! Ya can't be…! Give me a sign, anything!"

His hands give off a very dim crimson glow that doesn't grow any brighter as the minutes go by.

"…No! I-I can't get a signal…"

"Moses…" The marine utters.

"Looks like this is where I get off."

They eye him curiously. He inhales deeply.

"Bubbles…meant a lot to me…more than you know… And I…" A silent tear rolls down his cheek. "I ain't never wanted to do this…b-but I…don't think I could…" He sniffs up. "ever live without her…"

He walks right up to the infinite abyss to gaze into its dark depths as far as the eye can see.

"Moses, have you lost it! You don't want to do this! Don't make any hasty decisions! …Think about what you're doing!" Senel commands.

"…Already have. Ask yourself, Senel… Wouldn't you do the same if it was Shirley? Could you really go on living, knowing the person that means the world to you would never be there for you to hold in your arms anymore? Could you really live out the rest of your miserable days missing her more than words could ever say with every fabric of your being?"

Like icicles, his words pierce the inner core of Senel's heart and leave him frozen, rendering him to do no more than gasp.

"It's been nice knowin y'all…"

Before anyone can stop him, the bandit bravely steps foot into the dark chasm and lets himself fall face first into deep darkness.

Shirley lets out a terrified gasp. "Noooo…!"

"H-how could you…? We were a team…" Natalia remarks sadly.

"Moses…you…idiot…"

"I guess…there was never a stone here to begin with…or we came too late after somebody else got it…" The Merines mumbles.

Not another word is uttered as the remaining party carefully makes their way to the entrance of the ruins.

"I'd like to thank you…for accompanying me… I am…terribly sorry about your friends… they too, were like family to me. I'll make sure they each receive a proper burial in their remembrance… I will not forget their passing."

He nods solemnly. "Thanks…"

'_Was this all just…a trap? Was this all a set up to get me to come here, thinking I'd find an elixir stone, and be ambushed and killed by that dark knight? Was he sent here to kill me? Was this all a diversion to lead me off track? Moses…Norma…that's two more of my friends fallen…No…! Aurora was right…this was supposed to happen…And It is just a matter of time before all the rest of them…fall… No! I can't let that happen! I-I have to do something…but what…?'_

He sighs as the beaming hot desert sun beats down relentlessly on them from above.

-/++++++\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\-

As always, many thanks for reading!

On a irrelevant side note: I listened to Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri, my new favorite song by the way, pretty much the whole time I was writing this chapter!

I know you guys must all hate me now for killing off so many people…but don't say I didn't warn you that it would be extremely depressing. I hope you all have found your favorite anti-depressant by now. And don't expect it to get any less depressing either, cause if you're hoping for a nice, happy, cheerful story, you better go click out this one right now before it permanently scars you…forever!

Well, for those that are already tainted with depression, and like it for some insane reason, you'll have to await the next suspenseful, depressing chapter to know what's going to happen next! And I gotta say…it where stuff really starts to hit the depressing fan…so to speak!

Happy New Year everyone! ^_^


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